NORTHAMPTON — There were no tears shed for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki in Northampton on Friday as the former Army general announced he is stepping down amid a large-scale investigation into shortcomings in the VA's health delivery system.

"It was long overdue," said John Downing, the executive director of Soldier On, which provides shelter for homeless veterans at the Leeds VA and other sites. "He was a brave and good general, but he had no experience managing a large civilian bureaucracy. He didn't know how to leverage power."

An audit released by the White House on Friday shows that waiting times for veterans hoping to receive care at the majority the 216 facilities across the country appeared to be manipulated. That audit followed a previous report that revealed 42 VA centers across the country were being investigated for being slow to provide medical care to veterans.

"Everybody who works at the VA knows about it," Downing said. "If you're extremely wounded or need a hearing aid or eye-glasses, you can get help. Everyone else waits for hours."

Downing said word around the VA facility in Leeds is that the government is looking at it for mismanagement of contracts.

"There's been a pile of lumber outside Building 9 for years," he said, adding that water and heating projects there have ground to a near standstill.

Downing also said Director Roger Johnson did the Leeds VA a disservice by saying he intended to stay for about four to five years, then announcing he would retire in October. Meanwhile, second-in-command Richard Tremain, a disabled veteran, left for another VA facility because he did not want to wait another five years for Johnson to retire.

The spokeswoman for the Leeds VA could not be reached for comment Friday.

"The VA should be a great health care system," Downing said. "It's not."